World’s Greatest Robberies World’s Greatest Robberies Greatest Robberies Central Bank of Iraq (2003) Robbery Saddam Hussain is reported to have robbed the Central Bank of Iraq taking US$1.00 billion in one day, just before the U.S. troops bombed Iraq in 2003. This was mostly recovered from the walls of his palace. The banks General Manager also confirms of another independent robbery by professionals that amounted to US$250 million and 18 billion Iraqi dinars. Saddam Husain is also said to have paid he son Qusay an amount of US$950 million through a hand written note, who transferred the money by trucks. This amount was never recovered even after Qusay was killed by U.S. troops while fighting. This is the biggest heist so far. Kent Securities Depot (2006) Robbery This robbery is stated to be the largest cash hype in England. This heist was well considered and planned. The depot manager was abducted when on way home on 21st February. The robbers were disguised and shifted to a seemingly police car. He was hand-cuffed and taken to an unknown farm.

Simultaneously, his eight year old son and his wife were made hostage in their house. The wife was tricked by a misstated accident and was shifted to the unknown farm also. The depot manager was now fully under pressure for his family security and was forced to cooperate. The whole family was taken to the Securities Cash Management Ltd. Depot at Tonbridge, Kent, at 1.00 pm. They were allowed in and the thieves rounded up all the staff at gunpoint. The robbers took about an hour to complete the loot. The alarm was raised later and the police unbound them all. The heist totaled US$90 million and nothing stands recovered yet. The Boston Museum (1990) Robbery The Boston Museum was deprived of some very unusual Art Treasures in 1990. The huge loss of the world renowned, irreplaceable and valuable paintings was estimated over US$300 million. Two unarmed robbers, dressed as policemen managed entry into the museum at 1.00 am. on 18th March just after celebrations on St. Patrick’s Day. This late hour entry remained unexplained by the security head.

The door guards were immediately over-powered, knocked down and handcuffed in the basement. The robbers stayed for 1.5 hours collecting their booty of prized paintings. This included 3 Rembrandts and a Chinese Bronze Beaker. They cut away the canvas cruelly from near the frames, while hanging. They stacked away “Landscape with an Obelisk” by Govaert Flinck and “The Concert” by Vermeer. They ripped 5 Degas sketches from the short gallery and a Manet Portrait from the Blue room. They flew away the Bronze Eagle that adorned the Napoleon flag mast. These untidy robbers ransacked the museum wonders like Rembrandts only seascape “Storm on the Galilee”. The painting was cut hastily leaving ragged edges of canvas that are in tact in the empty hanging frames at the museum. The small museum was not insured unfortunately and had to bear the loss. The surveillance tape was also snatched away during the heist. Nothing is known of any recovery made till date. Knightsbridge Security Deposit (1987) Robbery The security deposit is situated in Westminster in London.

Two prospective ‘clients’ entered the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Center on 12th July to rent a safe deposit box. As soon they entered the vault, they immediately subdued the manager at gunpoint along with the guards. The shrewd thieves hung a sign outside the vault saying “vault closed temporally” and invited more of their accomplices. They broke open the safe boxes and left with an estimated hoard of over US$70 million at the time. They escaped quietly. After some time one of the guards could free himself and raised the alarm. The fingerprints led the investigators to an Italian Valerio Vicei who was arrested after surveillance along with his several accomplices on 12th August 1987. Banco Central in Brazil (2005) Burglary The classical event had big adventure element built-in. The Banco Central was entrusted the control of money supply. They had accumulated huge amount of used unsequel currency notes. These were being segregated for recirculation and destruction. The burglars planned it well. They rented a house nearby and placed a sign of ‘Landscaping Company selling Grass”, to cover up their motives. They dug a 250 feet tunnel to a place beneath the bank.

Van loads of mud were transported and nobody suspected anything because of their name displayed. The 2.5 feet square tunnel was laid 13 feet deep and had its lighting system and was wood-lined. Between 6 and 7 August weekend the gang broke through ONE meter thick steel/concrete wall to enter the bank vault. This was a big massy affair as the total money weighed about 3.5 tons. The total worth was reported about US$70 millions. The police arrested 5 persons and recovered about $5.5 millions. These persons had helped dig the tunnel as well. The mastermind was found shot dead on 22nd October. So far only$7 millions stand recovered while $63 million still remain at large. Northern Bank (2004) Robbery The Northern Bank, Belfast Headquarters was robbed off a huge amount in cash on 20th December. The gang members went to the home of two bank officers disguised as police men and held their families at gunpoint on Sunday evening. The officials were instructed to report at bank as usual and cooperate to save their families. They did so and stayed busy after business hours admitting the gang members in. The bank carried huge cash for ATMs and Christmas in store.

Soon the money was loaded in several vehicles including one ‘luton’ van. The gang left releasing the families also. The amount looted comprised of Ten million pounds of uncirculated bank notes along with some other currency notes. Reportedly the Northern Ireland proficient group was suspected for the heist. The British and Irish governments developed frictions over this one of the biggest cash robbery in British history. Everything remained confused by politics and nothing was known of it. Brinks Mat Warehouse (1983) Burglary The burglary was a planned event and occurred at Heathrow Airport on 26 November 1983. The gang entered the warehouse with the help of security guard Anthony Black. He was related to the gangs’ master mind Brian Robinson. The burglars were expecting booty of 3 million pounds but instead landed on Ten tonnes of gold bullion worth 26 million pounds. They loaded the gold and fled away. One of the gang had links with a genuine gold dealer in Bristol. He melted the gold to recast it for sale. Soon huge amounts of money passing through a Bristol bank were reported to police. Meanwhile the Scotland Yard found the clue and Black confessed for having helped the raiders.

The main culprits were sentenced to 25 years jail and Black got 6 years. In 1986 Nove was fined 700000 pounds with 14 years in jail, for conspiring and handling Brinks Mat gold. Three tons of gold was never traced that had been sold. The Great Train Robbery (1963) The great train robbery was made at Bridgego Railway Bridge in Buckinghamshire, England. The Royal Mails’ Travelling Post Office (TPO) train was stopped by signal tampering. Bruce Reynolds led his 15 member gang. They stole 2.3 million pounds in small currency notes. This incident was quite peaceful as only the driver was hit on the head and injured. The police tracked them soon from their fingerprints at their hideout at Leatherslade Farm. 13 robbers were caught, tried and imprisoned. One Ronnie Biggs escaped from prison and is still at large. The last of the lot, Charlie Wilson had settled in Canada on Rigaud Mountain in complete privacy. His wife made a mistake of calling her mother back in England, and was tracked down by Scotland Yard.

Dunbar Armored (1997) Robbery The Dunbar Armored robbery in Los Angeles, California is rated the largest cash haul in United States. It occurred on 13th September 1997. The amount involved was about US$19 million. This proved to be an inside man’s job, Allen Pace who worked there as a safety inspector. He planned and recruited 5 friends for the robbery. He knew all the security measures and how he could avoid the cameras and so on. He and his accomplices entered on Friday night, using his keys. He knew the vault would remain open due to huge money movements on Fridays. All of them rushed to the vault and subdued the guards before they could raise the alarm. The U-haul was waiting and in very little time the high denomination notes were loaded. Pace knew the bags that contained the non sequence notes. He also snatched the security camera recording devices. The police suspected staff involvement and also watched Pace. The gang members were cautious in their spending. However, one member gave a colleague a pack of bills in its original strap wrapping and was immediately tracked by police. All the robbers were arrested and Pace was sentenced to 24 years jail.

Only about half of the total money was recovered. Lufthansa (1978) Burglary The Lufthansa burglary was a pre planned one. The master mind was Jimmy Burke but the idea was generated by Martin Krugman. He had been tipped off by one Louis Werner, who owed Martin $20000 through gambling debt. He told him that huge amount of money is taken to West Germany for exchange and that it is stored at Kennedy Airport in card board vault. On 11th December at 3 AM. a van was noticed parking near the vault by a guard. He was struck, disarmed and told to disarm the silent alarm, and handcuffed there after. Another guard who heard noise was also overpowered and handcuffed. They took hold of more employees at gunpoint and rounded up all the rest at the cafeteria to clear their operation. The burglars then summoned Rudi Eirich by intercom on some emergency pretext. He was the only one who knew the codes to open the double door vault. At his first sight they surrounded him with guns and let him see the bounded employees in the cafeteria. They hurried him downstairs to open the vault.

Eirich was surprised to see the burglars knew the security systems and the precautions. They did not let him open the vault second door until the outer door was closed to avoid the alarm. As soon the vault was open they sorted the invoices to select the parcels that contained money. Forty parcels were loaded. Eirich was asked to close the vault taking cautions and was tied down firmly. During loading one burglar’s mask slipped and showed his glimpse. All the employees were warned that their families would be hurt if they told police anything. The alarm was sounded at 4.30 AM. The burglary was reported to be worth US$5 million in cash and $875000 in jewels. The whole proceedings took one hour only. No arrests were made. Final tributes to widow of bullion heist gangman - News - Eastern Daily Press Final tributes to widow of bullion heist gangman 17:04 22 April 2009 HIDDEN: Kenneth Noye is led into Dartford Magistrates Court. MOURNERS have paid their respects to the widow of one of the Brinks Mat bullion gold launderers.

Email this article to a friend To send a link to this page you must be logged in. MOURNERS have paid their respects to the widow of one of the Brinks Mat bullion gold launderers. Dozens of family members and friends were at St Mary the Virgin Parish Church, Westerham, last Wednesday to say farewell to Maggie Perry, wife of Brian Perry - one of the men involved in the 1983 £23 million heist at Heathrow Airport. The Rev Paul McVeagh paid tribute to Mrs Perry who he said "made bonds" with everyone she met and who had "given a lot of love". He said she loved gardening and '60s music and adored the children she leaves behind - Patrick, Robert and Pauline. Mourners sang hymns The Lord's my Shepherd and I Vow to thee my Country and the vicar read a section of an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson. He made reference to difficult times in her life and said that she had held her family together throughout painful periods.

Her husband, Biggin Hill-born Brian Perry, 63, a friend of M25 killer Kenneth Noye, was shot dead in November 2001 as he was walking into his minicab firm in south-east London. He had acted as an agent to two of the men involved in what was then Britain's biggest heist, Brian Robinson and Michael McAvoy, who doused security guards in petrol and threatened to set them alight unless they revealed the vault combinations. The thieves had expected to find £3 million in cash but once inside found gold bars worth £25 million of which only £11 million has ever been recovered. Spanning the 26 years since the legendary heist, those involved have been blighted with what's known as the Brinks Mat curse, with some being vengefully murdered and double-crossed and others receiving life sentences. McAvoy was arrested shortly after the robbery and asked Perry to look after his share of the bullion, who in turn enlisted Bexleyheath-born Kenny Noye to help smelt it down, depositing £10 million into Barclays bank within five weeks.

When McAvoy and Robinson were jailed for 25 years each in 1984, McAvoy tried to cut a deal, a shorter sentence in return for handing his share of the profits back, but by then his bullion had all but disappeared. He called in close friend and notorious gangster, The Fox, to find out where his money had gone. The Fox repeatedly told him that Perry refused to give it back but this has been called into question - in fact it is alleged that it was The Fox who had siphoned off McAvoy's cash. Perry was arrested in 1992 and jailed for nine years and while inside he managed to convince McAvoy he wasn't responsible for stealing his share. When he was released from jail, he told friends he wanted nothing to do with the criminal underworld anymore and went back to managing his cab firm. He wasn't under police protection and didn't seem to be aware that anyone held a grudge against him so it was a shock when he was gunned down by hitmen, shot three times in the back of the head. In 2006 Joseph Pitkin and Bilal Akhtar were cleared of his murder and nobody has ever been charged since.

katherine.nelson@archant.co.uk The Brinks Mat curse... - 1985: DC John Fordham was stabbed to death with a pitchfork in the grounds of Kenneth Noye's mansion in Kent after he caught the attention of his guard dogs. - 1990: An associate of Kenneth Noye, car dealer Nick Whiting, went missing from his Kent showroom in 1990. His body was found on Rainham Marshes, Essex. No-one has ever been charged. - 1995: Essex drug-dealer Pat Tate, who befriended Noye in prison during his Brinks Mat sentence, was shot dead with two other men in a Range Rover. - September 1996: Close friend of Noye, builder Keith Hedley, 57, was shot dead as he holidayed on his yacht in Corfu. - March 1998: Feared enforcer for the notorious Adams family Gilbert Wynter disappears. It is said his body was buried in concrete and is propping up the Millennium Dome. Another account of his suspected death asserts that he was killed on the orders of noted London gangster Mickey Green.

- November 1998: Hatton Garden jeweller Solly Nahome, who had helped melt down hundreds of gold bars on behalf of the notorious Adams family, was shot dead outside his home. - November 2001: Brian Perry, 63, shot dead outside his minicab firm. Joseph Pitkin, 31, and Bilal Akhtar, 22, were put on trial for Perry's murder in March 2006, but walked free after the prosecution case against them collapsed. No-one else has ever been charged. - May 2003: George Francis, 63, shot a few hundred yards from where Perry was killed outside his courier business. McAvoy is believed to have been questioned over the death of Francis following claims from informants that the dead man owed him more than £5 million. The fall-out When: November 26, 1983. Where: Brinks Mat warehouse at Heathrow Airport. What: The robbers thought they would steal £3 million in cash but found three tonnes of gold bullion worth £26 million. Most of the gold has never been recovered and at least £10 million is unaccounted for.

It has been reported that anyone wearing gold bought after 1983 is probably wearing Brinks Mat. Who: Gang leader Michael McAvoy and Brian Robinson who helped conceive the raid and got into the warehouse thanks to his security guard brother-in-law Anthony Black. McAvoy and Robinson were sentenced to 25 years in prison, Black got six years. While in prison, McAvoy entrusted his share of the bullion to Brian Perry from Biggin Hill and George Francis, whose wife lives in Beckenham, but when he was released in 2000 found £5 million of the loot to be missing. He is believed to have been questioned following the murder of Francis in 2003. Perry hired Kenneth Noye to dispose of the gold. Perry was sentenced to nine years in 1992 and was shot dead outside his Bermondsey mini-cab firm in 2001. - While being investigated for his part in laundering Brinks Mat gold, Noye was accused of stabbing police officer John Fordham who was observing him in his garden at his home in Hollywood Cottages, Sevenoaks.

He was acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defence, but was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 1986 for handling stolen gold. He was released from prison in 1994, having served eight years of his sentence. Two years later, in 1996, Noye stabbed 21-year-old motorist Stephen Cameron on the Swanley junction of the M25 which was falsely reported as a 'road rage' incident, but has been reported to be a dispute over a drug deal. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. - Tommy and Terry Adams, members of the Islington crime family, were also connected to the case. Tommy was filmed with Noye handling the gold and was later convicted of cannabis smuggling and jailed for seven-and-a- half years in 1998. Terry escaped prosecution for years until he was caught in a money laundering sting and jailed for seven years. - Tony White stood trial along with McAvoy and Robinson but was cleared. Insurers forced him to pay back almost £28 million, plus more than £2 million in compensation.

In 1997 he was jailed for 11 years for his part in a £65 million drug smuggling ring. - Brian Reader, friend to Noye, was at his house when DC Fordham was killed. He was also convicted of handling stolen gold from the Brinks Mat raid and jailed for nine years. - Solicitor Michael Relton was jailed for 12 years for laundering £7.8 million invested in Docklands property. - John 'Goldfinger' Palmer is widely credited with being the brains behind the robbery, but has never been convicted of an offence in connection with the raid. He was jailed for eight years for persuading timeshare owners to buy a new property by falsely claiming he would sell their old one. He travels everywhere with armed guards after threats on his life were made over the Brinks Mat profits. Final tributes to widow of bullion heist gangman - News - Bexley Times Final tributes to widow of bullion heist gangman 17:04 22 April 2009 HIDDEN: Kenneth Noye is led into Dartford Magistrates Court.

MOURNERS have paid their respects to the widow of one of the Brinks Mat bullion gold launderers. Email this article to a friend To send a link to this page you must be logged in. MOURNERS have paid their respects to the widow of one of the Brinks Mat bullion gold launderers. Dozens of family members and friends were at St Mary the Virgin Parish Church, Westerham, last Wednesday to say farewell to Maggie Perry, wife of Brian Perry - one of the men involved in the 1983 £23 million heist at Heathrow Airport. The Rev Paul McVeagh paid tribute to Mrs Perry who he said "made bonds" with everyone she met and who had "given a lot of love". He said she loved gardening and '60s music and adored the children she leaves behind - Patrick, Robert and Pauline. Mourners sang hymns The Lord's my Shepherd and I Vow to thee my Country and the vicar read a section of an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson. He made reference to difficult times in her life and said that she had held her family together throughout painful periods.

Her husband, Biggin Hill-born Brian Perry, 63, a friend of M25 killer Kenneth Noye, was shot dead in November 2001 as he was walking into his minicab firm in south-east London. He had acted as an agent to two of the men involved in what was then Britain's biggest heist, Brian Robinson and Michael McAvoy, who doused security guards in petrol and threatened to set them alight unless they revealed the vault combinations. The thieves had expected to find £3 million in cash but once inside found gold bars worth £25 million of which only £11 million has ever been recovered. Spanning the 26 years since the legendary heist, those involved have been blighted with what's known as the Brinks Mat curse, with some being vengefully murdered and double-crossed and others receiving life sentences. McAvoy was arrested shortly after the robbery and asked Perry to look after his share of the bullion, who in turn enlisted Bexleyheath-born Kenny Noye to help smelt it down, depositing £10 million into Barclays bank within five weeks.

When McAvoy and Robinson were jailed for 25 years each in 1984, McAvoy tried to cut a deal, a shorter sentence in return for handing his share of the profits back, but by then his bullion had all but disappeared. He called in close friend and notorious gangster, The Fox, to find out where his money had gone. The Fox repeatedly told him that Perry refused to give it back but this has been called into question - in fact it is alleged that it was The Fox who had siphoned off McAvoy's cash. Perry was arrested in 1992 and jailed for nine years and while inside he managed to convince McAvoy he wasn't responsible for stealing his share. When he was released from jail, he told friends he wanted nothing to do with the criminal underworld anymore and went back to managing his cab firm. He wasn't under police protection and didn't seem to be aware that anyone held a grudge against him so it was a shock when he was gunned down by hitmen, shot three times in the back of the head. In 2006 Joseph Pitkin and Bilal Akhtar were cleared of his murder and nobody has ever been charged since.

katherine.nelson@archant.co.uk The Brinks Mat curse... - 1985: DC John Fordham was stabbed to death with a pitchfork in the grounds of Kenneth Noye's mansion in Kent after he caught the attention of his guard dogs. - 1990: An associate of Kenneth Noye, car dealer Nick Whiting, went missing from his Kent showroom in 1990. His body was found on Rainham Marshes, Essex. No-one has ever been charged. - 1995: Essex drug-dealer Pat Tate, who befriended Noye in prison during his Brinks Mat sentence, was shot dead with two other men in a Range Rover. - September 1996: Close friend of Noye, builder Keith Hedley, 57, was shot dead as he holidayed on his yacht in Corfu. - March 1998: Feared enforcer for the notorious Adams family Gilbert Wynter disappears. It is said his body was buried in concrete and is propping up the Millennium Dome. Another account of his suspected death asserts that he was killed on the orders of noted London gangster Mickey Green.

- November 1998: Hatton Garden jeweller Solly Nahome, who had helped melt down hundreds of gold bars on behalf of the notorious Adams family, was shot dead outside his home. - November 2001: Brian Perry, 63, shot dead outside his minicab firm. Joseph Pitkin, 31, and Bilal Akhtar, 22, were put on trial for Perry's murder in March 2006, but walked free after the prosecution case against them collapsed. No-one else has ever been charged. - May 2003: George Francis, 63, shot a few hundred yards from where Perry was killed outside his courier business. McAvoy is believed to have been questioned over the death of Francis following claims from informants that the dead man owed him more than £5 million. The fall-out When: November 26, 1983. Where: Brinks Mat warehouse at Heathrow Airport. What: The robbers thought they would steal £3 million in cash but found three tonnes of gold bullion worth £26 million. Most of the gold has never been recovered and at least £10 million is unaccounted for.

It has been reported that anyone wearing gold bought after 1983 is probably wearing Brinks Mat. Who: Gang leader Michael McAvoy and Brian Robinson who helped conceive the raid and got into the warehouse thanks to his security guard brother-in-law Anthony Black. McAvoy and Robinson were sentenced to 25 years in prison, Black got six years. While in prison, McAvoy entrusted his share of the bullion to Brian Perry from Biggin Hill and George Francis, whose wife lives in Beckenham, but when he was released in 2000 found £5 million of the loot to be missing. He is believed to have been questioned following the murder of Francis in 2003. Perry hired Kenneth Noye to dispose of the gold. Perry was sentenced to nine years in 1992 and was shot dead outside his Bermondsey mini-cab firm in 2001. - While being investigated for his part in laundering Brinks Mat gold, Noye was accused of stabbing police officer John Fordham who was observing him in his garden at his home in Hollywood Cottages, Sevenoaks.

He was acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defence, but was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 1986 for handling stolen gold. He was released from prison in 1994, having served eight years of his sentence. Two years later, in 1996, Noye stabbed 21-year-old motorist Stephen Cameron on the Swanley junction of the M25 which was falsely reported as a 'road rage' incident, but has been reported to be a dispute over a drug deal. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. - Tommy and Terry Adams, members of the Islington crime family, were also connected to the case. Tommy was filmed with Noye handling the gold and was later convicted of cannabis smuggling and jailed for seven-and-a- half years in 1998. Terry escaped prosecution for years until he was caught in a money laundering sting and jailed for seven years. - Tony White stood trial along with McAvoy and Robinson but was cleared. Insurers forced him to pay back almost £28 million, plus more than £2 million in compensation.

In 1997 he was jailed for 11 years for his part in a £65 million drug smuggling ring. - Brian Reader, friend to Noye, was at his house when DC Fordham was killed. He was also convicted of handling stolen gold from the Brinks Mat raid and jailed for nine years. - Solicitor Michael Relton was jailed for 12 years for laundering £7.8 million invested in Docklands property. - John 'Goldfinger' Palmer is widely credited with being the brains behind the robbery, but has never been convicted of an offence in connection with the raid. He was jailed for eight years for persuading timeshare owners to buy a new property by falsely claiming he would sell their old one. He travels everywhere with armed guards after threats on his life were made over the Brinks Mat profits.

The biggest heist in history: The botched raid on the Brink's-Mat that claimed 20 lives | UK | News | Daily Express UK The biggest heist in history: The botched raid on the Brink's-Mat that claimed 20 lives WHEN one of the security guards at Unit 7 of the Heathrow Airport trading estate turned around to see a man in a balaclava pointing a pistol in his face and telling him to hit the floor he assumed it was a colleague playing a practical joke and carried on making the tea. 04:33, Mon, Nov 25, 2013 BULLION BUNGLERS: Sean Bean as Mickey McAvoy in Fool’s Gold [ REX] It was only when he was coshed, cuffed and bound that he realised it was no laughing matter. Not that the six robbers were an impressively slick outfit. They had been expecting to find £3million in cash at the Brink's-Mat warehouse but they discovered nearly 10 times that amount in gold bars along with some cash and rough diamonds. It was a bonanza but it presented the problem of how they were going to move it all.

A job that was meant to be in and out in a few minutes ended up taking the best part of two hours as someone had to get a bigger van, which was later seen wheezing through Hounslow with its chassis nearly scraping the road. Bumbling as it sounds the robbery on November 26, 1983, was the biggest heist in British history and in real terms it remains so. John Palmer leaving Clerkenwell Magistrates Courts after being released [REX] The gang doused the two guards with petrol and threatened to set them alight The price of gold has trebled in the meantime so the value of the haul at today's prices would be around £90million. About 70 per cent of it was never recovered and the criminal underworld is still fighting and killing each other over the spoils. The robbery has claimed as many as 20 lives so far and gang members who weren't even born at the time of the theft have started "breaking a few arms" to locate the hidden treasure.

As one senior detective tells Wensley Clarkson, the leading writer on the case, in his recent book The Curse Of Brink's-Mat, "Nothing really surprises us any more when it comes to Brink's-Mat. These villains were out of control. Many of them were off their heads on drugs bought with their newfound riches. "The trouble was that when that money either ran out or in the case of some of them, never materialised, there was only one way to respond and that was to kill people to show others that even 25 years after the robbery was committed if they dared to cross the gang they would still pay for it." The theft itself was a violent affair in which the gang doused the two guards who had security codes for the vault with petrol and threatened to set them alight if they didn't give them up. Its execution depended on an inside man in the shape of 31-year-old guard Tony Black. Detectives were suspicious that he had turned up 10 minutes late for work on the morning of the robbery and he quickly confessed that he had provided information and a key to a team including his sister's boyfriend Brian Robinson and two other men, "Mad" Mickey McAvoy and Tony White.

McAvoy, who had planned the raid for six months, was arrested when he moved shortly after the robbery from his south London council house to a Kent mansion and named his two rottweilers Brinks and Mat. Noye was released from prison in 1994 [PA] That was symptomatic of the shambolic aftermath to the heist. The gang had been planning to split the cash between them but turning that amount of gold into cash was a very different matter. It had to be smelted, disguised and sold back into the gold industry and there was no one in their immediate circle who knew how to do that. They were forced to look for help further afield and every organised villain in London wanted part of the action. One of the men they turned to was Kent crime boss Kenneth Noye, a volatile businessman with strong police connections from his Freemasonry activity, who was friends with a Bristol gold dealer called John Palmer, nicknamed Goldfinger. Noye's idea was to introduce copper into the gold during the smelting process, altering its carat rating and making it untraceable.

He immediately started generating money for the gang but aroused suspicions when he withdrew £3million in cash from a single bank branch in Bristol. He was placed under surveillance but when he discovered undercover detective John Fordham hiding in his garden wearing camouflaged clothes he stabbed him 11 times. He and fellow crook Brian Reader were acquitted of murder after pleading self-defence but 11 gold bars were discovered hidden beside Noye's garage wall. The pair of them were jailed for conspiracy to handle stolen goods. In the meantime McAvoy and Robinson had been sentenced to 25 years and Black to six. Another of the gang, Brian Perry, was eventually given nine years for money laundering. Meanwhile the cash itself swirled around. Clarkson says: "The Brink's-Mat villains' epic conversion of gold into cash brought more money into this country than any other gang of 0criminals in history. And when they spent it they often helped keep legitimate businesses afloat." Some of the money went into property including the London Docklands boom and construction projects on the Costas but it also helped nudge organised crime in a new direction.

Financial backing from Noye and other Brink's-Mat gang members was key to setting up some of the main supply routes into Britain for the fledgling ecstasy trade. This new wave of recreational drugs, which became a key part of social life for a generation of young people, became a good way of keeping gang bosses wealthy as banks and security companies stepped up their procedures and bank robberies became all but impossible. Released from prison in 1994 Noye and two other members of the gang also spent months in negotiations to buy huge quantities of the narcotic leaf khat from African drug barons. In 1996 the temperamental Noye stabbed 21-year-old Stephen Cameron to death in an unprovoked incident, completely unrelated to Brink's-Mat, on the M25 in Kent. He fled to Spain from where he was extradited and jailed for life at the Old Bailey in 2000. Now 66 he failed earlier this year to get his minimum 16-year term reduced. Meanwhile the legacy of the Brink's-Mat robbery has been continued underworld carnage.

Perry was shot dead in Bermondsey, south London, in 2001 having been accused of taking McAvoy's share of the money. A Hatton Garden jeweller called Solly Nahome, who had handled some of the gold, was shot dead in a north London street in 1998. Another enforcer is said to have become part of the foundations of the Millennium Dome. And in 1990 Great Train Robber Charlie Wilson had been gunned down in Spain, in trouble after £3million of Brink's-Mat investors' money went missing in a drugs deal. Things got so bad that former Kray twins' associate George Francis said: "It's a curse because everyone connected to Brink's-Mat stands to get topped." And sure enough he too has since been shot dead. The case inspired the TV film Fool's Gold starring Sean Bean as McAvoy. It's claimed that most people with gold jewellery made in the UK after 1993 are wearing Brink's-Mat gold and Clarkson adds that in a sense it marked the end of an era for British crime.

Robbery was overtaken by far more lucrative enterprises such as drugs, arms dealing, racketeering and people smuggling, often led by a massive influx of foreign criminals as the traditional "faces" of London's old-style criminal fraternity slipped out of the limelight. But the main legacy, Clarkson insists, is clear. He concludes: "The UK remains in the grip of organised crime mainly fuelled by drugs, which first got a stranglehold, in part, thanks to that massive influx of Brink's-Mat cash." Most read in UK 10 Greatest Robberies of All Times Your Are Here → Home → Crime → 10 Greatest Robberies of All Times 10 Greatest Robberies of All Times Jun 02,2012 - by Rick Comments Off Robbery can be worth a few hundred dollars to million or billion dollars. Robbery has always been a topic of peculiar interest to me. If we set aside the fact that it is a social evil, I always wonder and think over the creativity of mind and pragmatic planning of the robber in conducting the robbery.

Films based on the theme of multi-billion dollar robberies also fascinate some people as it is full of suspense and thrill on how the robbers will be able to evade the law and get their hands on something big enough to change their lives forever. Today, I am not talking about mobile snatching or a purse snatcher of a lady who, if caught by you, will translate into a sweet kiss by the lady. The list contains some of the robberies which made history by virtue of the amount involved in it or by the nature of the robbery. So below are the greatest robberies of all time. 10. Lutfhansa Heist Termed as the biggest heist on American soil, it was committed at John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 11, 1978. It was too famous a robbery that it was made the subject of two television films The 10 Million Dollar Getaway and The Big Heist. If we estimate the amount in today’s terms, then around $17.8 million and $3.1 million worth of jewels were stolen.

Jimmy Burke was the main figure in this robbery who, after the start of investigation, shot many of his associates on fear of being caught by the police as they could tell them the possible whereabouts of Jimmy. 9. Dunbar Armored Robbery Occurring in the year 1997, it was the largest cash robbery in USA. This time it was Dunbar Armored facility in L.A, California. Allen Pace, who worked as a regional safety inspector in the facility, was the man behind the scene. He planned all the minute details and had the advantage of every inside information such as the timing and location of the vaults. What are the childhood friends for?, definitely for occasion like the one under discussion. They all teamed up for this robbery. The thieves managed to flee from the scene with around $18.9 million cash in hands. One more fascinating thing is that all the greatest robberies on American soil took place in the year 1997. 8. Brink’s-MAT Robbery Enough robberies on U.S, isn’t it? Let us move on to the next venue which is the Heathrow Airport, London.

Six robbers were involved in this scene and managed to rob around £26 million worth of gold, diamonds and cash when they had come with a mind of stealing just £3 million in cash. Again, the security guard at the Brink’s-MAT warehouse, Anthony Black abetted the robbers to get inside and break the security. This robbery occurred in 1983. Sometimes, brother-in-law can cost you a lot guys. Black, brother-in-law of one of the robbers Micky McAvoy, revealed his name to the officer in-charge of investigation which resulted in his arrest a month later. 7. Northern Bank robbery This is termed as the largest robbery in the history of UK and Ireland. An equivalent of £26.5 million was stolen by a group of gang from the Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The robbery took place on 20 December 2004. The investigation of this case is still proceeding in courts and the mystery behind this deplorable event is yet to be unraveled. 6. Banco Central Burglary Fortaleza Banco Central is the central bank of Brazil as is The State Bank of Pakistan.

In the August of 2005, a group of burglars managed successfully to steal five containers of 50-real notes estimated value of which was around USD 94.3 million as of December, 2009. The money was uninsured as the bank spokesperson stated that the risk of money being stolen was too remote or less that there wasn’t any need for insurance. The planning of this historic robbery started three months ago when the robbers rented a nearby house and started digging a tunnel on the name of a business. 5. Great Train Robbery It was England which offered itself to be the venue of the historic robbery this time. The robbery was committed at the Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England in August 1963. If the stolen amount is determined in today’s terms, it is tantamount to around £40 million. The surprising thing is that no firearms were involved in this scene and three of the robbers managed to escape successfully. The gang consisted of 17 members, two of which were the informants. 4.

Securitas depot robbery Around £ 15 million was stolen from a Securitas Cash Management Ltd depot in Vale Road, Tonbridge, Kent. The robbery took place on February 2006 when some unidentified persons kidnapped the manager and his family. The robbers then threatened the manager to cooperate with them or else face the music. It was the largest cash robbery in the history of British. 3. Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery Can you believe this robbery was conducted by a lawyer’s son Valerio Viccei, who was already wanted for 50 armed robberies in Italy. But he chose London to be the next target and robbed around USD 174 million as of 2006 from Knightsbridge Security Deposit. However, with the help of fingerprint tracing, police was able to get hold of the main character of the robbery, Valerio Viccei. He was sentenced to 22 years of prison and he died in a fire exchange with a police officer in an open jail in Pescara, Italy. 2. Boston Museum Robbery An old-fashioned technique was used as the robbers disguised themselves as police officers and entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum late at night.

When the guards learnt that the men who entered the building were not the real police officers, it was too late as the robbers somehow managed to tie up the guards and left them in the basement. In less than 90 minutes, they stole several famous paintings such as Dutch artist’s only seascape, “Storm on the Sea of Galilee”, “The Concert” by Vermeer and “Landscape with an Obelisk,” an oil painting by Govaert Flinck. The paintings en masse were worth US$ 300 million. 1. Central Bank Of Iraq Robbery Around US$1 billion was stolen from the Central Bank of Iraq a few days before the USA started a military operation in Iraq. Considered as the largest bank heist in history, it took place in March 2003. In the later stage of war, US soldiers found around US$ 650 million hidden in the walls of palace of Saddam Hussein. A hand-written note signed by Saddam was also found in which it was ordered that $920 million should be given to his son Qusay.

Question: What was the name of the security firm that was robbed of £26 million at Heathrow in 1983
Answer: Brinks Matt